diff --git a/addons/zookeeper/config/zookeeper-config.tpl b/addons/zookeeper/config/zookeeper-config.tpl
index f194844a1..d34b90f3c 100644
--- a/addons/zookeeper/config/zookeeper-config.tpl
+++ b/addons/zookeeper/config/zookeeper-config.tpl
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ maxClientCnxns=500
 {{- end }}
 
 # whitelist
-4lw.commands.whitelist=srvr, mntr, ruok, conf
+4lw.commands.whitelist=srvr, mntr, ruok, conf, stat
 
 # cluster server list
 {{- printf "\n" }}
diff --git a/addons/zookeeper/templates/cmpd.yaml b/addons/zookeeper/templates/cmpd.yaml
index 0848dd85f..5aa9877a7 100644
--- a/addons/zookeeper/templates/cmpd.yaml
+++ b/addons/zookeeper/templates/cmpd.yaml
@@ -144,9 +144,13 @@ spec:
               - /bin/bash
               - -c
               - |
-                . "$ZOOBINDIR"/zkEnv.sh > /dev/null
-                java -cp "$CLASSPATH" $CLIENT_JVMFLAGS $JVMFLAGS org.apache.zookeeper.client.FourLetterWordMain \
-                localhost 2181 ruok | grep imok
+                if command -v nc &> /dev/null; then
+                  echo "ruok" | timeout 2 nc localhost 2181 | grep imok;
+                else
+                  . "$ZOOBINDIR"/zkEnv.sh > /dev/null
+                  java -cp "$CLASSPATH" $CLIENT_JVMFLAGS $JVMFLAGS org.apache.zookeeper.client.FourLetterWordMain \
+                  localhost 2181 ruok | grep imok
+                fi
         readinessProbe:
           failureThreshold: 6
           initialDelaySeconds: 5
@@ -158,9 +162,13 @@ spec:
               - bash
               - -c
               - |
-                . "$ZOOBINDIR"/zkEnv.sh > /dev/null
-                java -cp "$CLASSPATH" $CLIENT_JVMFLAGS $JVMFLAGS org.apache.zookeeper.client.FourLetterWordMain \
-                localhost 2181 ruok | grep imok
+                if command -v nc &> /dev/null; then
+                  echo "ruok" | timeout 2 nc localhost 2181 | grep imok;
+                else
+                  . "$ZOOBINDIR"/zkEnv.sh > /dev/null
+                  java -cp "$CLASSPATH" $CLIENT_JVMFLAGS $JVMFLAGS org.apache.zookeeper.client.FourLetterWordMain \
+                  localhost 2181 ruok | grep imok
+                fi
         securityContext:
           allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
           capabilities: